Over the last decade, transcranial Doppler examination of the cerebral vessels has been made possible by the development of a high-intensity, low-frequency (2 MHz) pulse probe. The middle, the anterior and the posterior cerebral arteries, the cavernous portion of the carotid artery and the basilar artery can thus be easily studied transtemporally or transorbitally or from below the foramen magnum. The transcranial Doppler examination is already used clinically to study arteriosclerosis and in the diagnosis and follow-up of vasospasm and arteriovenous malformations. This review describes the examination procedure and summarizes and illustrates its major indications.